The Assassin's Cloak

A lady paid me a wonderful compliment in a bookstore the other day, a compliment that I guess helped me to realize that my research into The Assassin's Cloak certainly has appeal. I had just picked up a copy of The World of Christopher Marlowe by David Riggs to add to my collection when she appeared from behind and asked me whether I thought that Marlowe was Shakespeare. Now anyone who knows me knows that a question like that is like a red rag to a bull. So after spewing forth a dozen or so facts to support my argument that Marlowe wasn't Shakespeare, but that he didn't die in a Deptford tavern, and that Ferdinando Stanley, long associated with Marlowe's 'friends' was likely murdered by the agents of the government to keep Catholics from the throne, she told me that such a story would make compelling reading.

She's right. The story itself has that fascinating 'whodunnit' element to it, so I have again decided to work seriously on it, likely at the expense of some of the other things I have on my plate, but such is the spark of motivation. Now if only someone would contact me about co-authoring a film script on The Gunpowder Plot....

Movie: Children of Men

My friend Gary Astleford at Neuro Suction has just been lamenting his current situation - being unable to run a game session, and not having had the chance for almost a year now. Welcome to my world, Gary. I think it's been a good couple of years since I actually GM'd a game, probably at GenCon. It hasn't stopped me writing though, and inspiration these days seems to be quite thick in the air.

Case in point. Last night I watched Children of Men. I must say that it was nice to see an English/European dystopian film, like one of my all-time favourites - Nineteen Eighty-Four directed by Michael Radford and starring John Hurt. Children of Men is an excellent look at a dark future society that would fit right into the Cyberpunk: Aftershock world. The violence is real, without the need for hollywood pyrotechnics, the cinematography uses the single-shot sequence liberally and to great effect as it makes you feel you are a part of the action, and the world that director Alfonso Cuaron has created doesn't give that CGI feel that so many American made films these days do.

The film also puts the characters in the action and they are subjected to its events, like balls in a pinball machine bouncing of the bumpers they react to the scene as it unfolds around them, rather than the traditional action film of the characters directing the events themselves. This all adds to the hopelessness of the situation and the despair that each character feels - the inability to actually decide an outcome for themselves - they always seem to be taking the first available opportunity to present itself.

The characters are believable and Clive Owen's acting is excellent. His character knows he's out of his depth from the moment the first bullets begin to fly, and there is no time for painting a romantic hue over any of the film - it's brutally honest, full of swearing, blood, gore and liberal doses of political finger-pointing. For those who want to look deeper there is plenty of imagery, from the strong religious theme that underpins the film to the constant reference and allusion to modern events and problems such as terrorism and immigration. This is one of those rare films I would give 10/10 to and suggest to anyone interested in the Dark Future to watch, more than once.

It Keep's Me Occupied

I'm always being asked 'What are you working on?', Well, for those who care to follow along here, over the next few months I will be posting (hopefully frequent) updates on the various writing/gaming projects that are presently keeping me occupied. Where an NDA prevents me from saying too much (or anything at all), I'll try and at least be interesting in my vagueness. I'm even going to attempt to use labels on each relevant post so if you so choose you can follow individual threads or projects.

Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.
I include this one at the top of the list simply because it's the only official piece of work I am eventually going to get paid for. Yes I should get paid in some way for others, but this one is official.

R.Talsorian Games are developing the long-awaited final installment of the Firestorm series. What began with Stormfront and Shockwave will end with Aftershock. It will look at the world at the end of the 4th Corporate War and lay the foundation for the AltCults that appeared in Cyberpunk V3.

I am hoping that this will lead to additional projects within this license.

CyberGeneration: Revolution 2+
Firestorm Ink are in the process of resurrecting this license by putting out a series of PDF sourcebooks. These will look in detail at various cities around the ISA (including Denver, Miami, Night City, Chicago and New York) as well as the Enemies of the Revolution. Expect the first of these to hit DriveThruRPG.com in 2009.

1601
I've been throwing notes together for a while now for my Elizabethan RPG system. I've decided that it will be written using the Fuzion system (but that might change) and will contain a significant LARP section.

It's set just after the Essex Rebellion of 1601 (hence the title) and will allow players to portray characters as diverse as soldiers of fortune, privateers, explorers, members of the Catholic underground (from Jesuits to conspirators), or the pursuivants that hunted them down.

SPECTRUM is Green
This is the fledgling 'idea' I mentioned in my previous post and because I intend to pursue at least the prospect of putting something together, I have included it. whether it will grow any legs, I don't know.

So those are the four RPG projects that are presently underway. They seem to take up most of my free time these days, not that I have as much of that any more as I once did. The last project that should be included is of course my book on Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby titled 'The Assassin's Cloak'.

This is the voice of the Mysteron....

Someone once asked me if I could acquire the license to any movie, TV show or piece of intellectual property and develop an RPG system out of it what would it be. It's one of those conversation starters, something a bunch of us ('us' being gamers) could sit round and wax lyrically on for hours.

The assumption of course is that it can't already be in RPG form. That's too easy. Everyone wants to have a go at reinventing their favourite system, from Star Wars to Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons to World of Darkness. For me there are several contenders, from a variety of genres and ranging from small and insignifcant to potentially huge.

I'm already developing ideas for an Elizabethan RPG system that I think could do well with a LARP component built into it, but that's something that doesn't require a license, just hours upon hours of detailed research, and then I get to actually do some writing. No, if I could take any single license it would have to be the license for the world of Gerry Anderson. Who? I'm sure many of you have no idea who he is. Remember the TV programmes Thunderbirds or Captain Scarlet & The Mysteron's? what about the program Space 1999?

Both Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet (along with the lead in series like Fireball XL5) were 'set' in and around the years 2065-2068. The first involves an organization called International Rescue who miraculously turn up when things go wrong to save the day, and the second is about a mysterious security agency called Spectrum that exists to thwart international terrorism and fight the war against a race of Martians called The Mysterons.

The high-tech, yet bleak future appeal of these two shows would make an excellent pseudo-cyberpunk setting in which you could have players playing both Spectrum agents and individuals that exist in the murky and shadowy world they live in. I keep abreast of the state of the Gerry Anderson properties on a regular basis, but to date nobody has ever even attempted to put an RPG system together. Considering Gerry no longer owns the rights to the show and has recently been battling Carlton Television to secure them again so he can do an upated Thunderbirds, it seems hardly likely that such an RPG project would never see the light of day. Still, it's an interesting idea all the same.

The Birth of an Idea - The DCG

There are a lot of things to consider when developing a CCG, and as a player there are plenty of things to consider before investing time and money into a game. The best of all combinations then is a game that is cheap to produce but retains quality, engaging and addictive in its gameplay, not such a massive financial investment that if nobody else you know plays it you haven't lost your shirt, and a game that retains a degree of either collectability or rarity amongst its cards. The DCG or Downloadable Card Game does all of these.

Firestorm Ink have an excellent concept here and the first incarnation of their DCG idea is currently being rolled out in all its Alpha glory. Factions is a political game that takes some of its ideas from games like Allegiance and adds an engaging set of mechanics and gameplay in a very accessible framework. They are accepting alpha testers now, email them at alpha@firestorm-ink.com.

What is a DCG then? It's actually a vehicle to produce card games. Cards are printed to PDF (the same quality files that go to a regular printer) and then players can buy the individual PDF files for a set price (each PDF has 9 cards on it). Each file you purchase gives you a credit. These credits can then be used to enter tournaments, acquire additional rare cards, etc. Once you have the card PDF you can print it as many times as you want, on any medium, from proper card backing to ordinary printer paper. If a card set has 180 cards then the entire game will cost you $20 to start playing if each file costs $1, and it is anticipated that this is about what each file will cost.

Want some friends to learn? Print them off some cards, simple as that. Lose a few cards, or they get torn and ratty, print some more. So what's stopping players buying the cards and then just printing them for all and sundry? Well nothing really except by actually buying the files you are earning the Credits and you also register to get unique card files emailed to you. If you choose to give these rare cards to your friends too, then that's up to you, but not doing so will give you an advantage both in local play and in tournaments.

Beyond this simple download of the files, players can purchase a subscription. This entitles them to all the cards that are produced for the length of their subscription (including all rare and special cards). Higher levels of subscription will enable the player to have the cards professionally printed on card and posted to them (keep the card backed set for tournaments and use the paper backed copies for friendly social play).

It's a great concept, and allows a player to invest as little or as much into the game as they wish by bypassing or putting in the players hands the major cost of a CCG's production - the printing, bring in friends initially at no cost, and if the game isn't your cup of tea, you haven't lost your shirt. With some good titles behind this idea, Firestorm Ink might just be onto something.